New Curriculum Drop, School Shout-Outs, & Partnership Pathways!
What’s good, readers? Education Manager Jesse here with Oregon Black Pioneers’ Education News, where we will be celebrating school collabs, explaining our partnership pathways, and highlighting some new classroom resources. With Oregon Black Pioneer Education, we are bringing Oregon’s Black history to life—lesson by lesson.
New Curriculum Drop
We’ve refreshed our OBP curriculum—and it’s ready for your classroom. Our lessons are organized into three thematic units that tell a chronological story of Black Oregonian history:
- Black Pioneers & Trailblazers – Early Black explorers and community builders
- Black Exclusion & Resistance – How exclusion laws shaped Oregon and how Black Oregonians resisted
- Black Activism & Civil Rights – Civil Rights legislation, political leadership, youth activism, and organizing
Each unit includes elementary, middle, and high school lessons with:
- Clear guiding questions & learning goals
- Primary-source–based inquiry
- An I Do / We Do / You Do structure
- Differentiation, extensions, and formative assessments
- Alignment to Oregon Social Science Standards (and ELA for elementary)
Lessons can stand alone or be taught as a sequence—and they’re designed to be flexible.
School Shout-Outs
We love seeing OBP lessons come to life in schools across the region! Here are some schools we’ve worked with to pilot our new lessons:
City View Charter (Hillsboro) – Students explored Oregon’s civil rights history through hands-on primary source stations
Gaiser Middle School (Vancouver) – MLK Day assembly connecting Oregon’s Civil Rights Movement to student civic identity
Arbor School of Arts & Sciences (Tualatin) – Family walking discussion centered on York and which connected to students learning inside the classroom
Dr. MLK Jr. Elementary (Portland) – Grades 1–5 engaged in learning activities centered around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his major contributions to the American Civil Rights Movement
Partnership Pathways
OBP partners with teachers to support inquiry-based, standards-aligned instruction that fits naturally into existing units.
Ways we can work together:
- Classroom Instruction – OBP teaches or adapts OBP lessons that support your curriculum
- Traveling Trunk Support (OHS) – A handy trunk filled with lesson design, inquiry questions, and alignment support
- Schoolwide Assemblies – Classroom-connected assemblies with pre/post lesson guidance
- Library Rotations & Stations – Interactive, differentiated learning across grade levels
We’ll collaborate with you to find what works best for your students and setting. Connect with us to find out more!
Coming up: Juneteenth Educator Workshop
Oregon Black Pioneers is designing an educator workshop based on the theme of Black Exclusion and Resistance. Participants will experience a modeled OBP lesson and worktime to adapt resources to fit into their classroom/curriculum. OBP will also lead participants on a walking tour to learn about Black Portland, in addition to engaging with one of our exhibits.
More details coming soon—stay tuned!
Don’t forget we also have digital storybooks and posters, and activity sheets to download for free.
Bringing Oregon’s Black history to life—lesson by lesson,
Dr. Jesse Hendryx-Dobson (he/him)
Education Manager
Oregon Black Pioneers